The Cast of Characters - Our Cattle Pets

When I was a little girl, growing up on the ranch, we would sometimes get the urge to name a baby calf. We didn't want to poke them or use a torturous tool called the "hot shot". It just seemed cruel, especially for baby calves. I remember my sister, who was more of a ranch gal than I was, trying to just talk softly to the cattle to get them into the chute. "Go on up there" She would say in her soft voice. Holly also refused to wear pants for much of her childhood. She was as feminine as girls come, and she loved the animals at the ranch. She later moved on to wanting to take in strays, homeless people, and anything else that needed to be rescued. She really was a better humanitarian than I was. It wasn't that I didn't care. I was just too clueless to realize that I could do something about it. Anyway, we often had the urge to name the baby calves that we saw, and we were told that we should not become attached to these creatures. This is a working ranch, and once they are named, it is hard to think of the chain of life that lies ahead for them.

They might leave in a cattle truck, and where they went was a bit of a mystery to us. Once we realized the connection between these cattle and the food on our table, it became a little more clear, and it was very saddening.

Fast Forward about 30 years... My dad has mellowed a bit over the years. When my twins were four years old, we spent a couple of weeks on the ranch that summer, and there was a calf who did not have a mother, so was being fed by bottle. She had a NAME! She was "Sally Mae". We enjoyed feeding times almost as much as we enjoyed any amusement park ride or event in the city. The twins loved this baby. I enjoyed seeing them bond with this baby. I really thought this cow would not be treated any different because she was bottle fed and named, because I had never seen my dad name a calf.

Well, I was wrong. Every visit since then, it has been a daily joy to go to the pasture to feed Sally Mae. She is a 700 pound cow, and she will walk right up to you and eat out of your hand. She has had a few babies, and she is still here.

Now, we have quite a cast of characters in the "pet" herd. There is "RED", who was also bottle fed as a baby, and is equally as gentle as Sally Mae. She is named "Red" because she is a red cow.



Then, there is Mary, the longhorn, who my brother negotiated in a bar one night. It was a little bit of a joke at first, but she has become one of the favorites. She has had 2 calves, Sheila and Blackberry. Sheila looks like a longhorn who was de-horned (we don't have any other longhorns on this ranch, and de-horning is just part of the process -- those horns could be dangerous. We all scolded Papa for taking the horns off a longhorn -- that just doesn't seem right. Blackberry is black, and has also been de-horned. She is still in the herd with the pets.

My dad's wife, Ginny came into this ranch world at age 60. She is so well dressed and sophisticated (and clean), afraid of snakes and mice, and appears a city gal. One might think from a distance that she is no cowgirl. She has taken such an interest in this group of bovine girlfriends that she goes in the feed truck in her heels to feed and check on them most evenings. She calls them her "girls".

The other day, my dad introduced a new pair to the crew. Meet Oreo and Double Stuff. These are a breed that I had never seen before. They are so pretty, and definitely easy to spot. Apparently, Ginny has seen this breed on a nearby ranch that they drive by, and dad asked a friend to look out for one to add to the pets on our ranch. He left at 6am on Sunday to drive 3 hours to pick the pair up. For my dad, this is about as romantic as it gets. Ginny was so happy to have them.

My kids love the daily event of feeding the pets, especially when Ginny is here to take them in the Feed Truck!